Gwyneth’s Blog

Today I have the pleasure of interviewing my good friend and soror, Ann Christopher! Ann recently won the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award for her stellar novel, Just About Sex . And she has another winner in the wings with her latest release, Tender Secrets . Ever since I read Ann’s first novel, Trouble , I have eagerly awaited each new release and she has become one of my automatic-read authors. She creates these handsome, sexy, larger-than-life heroes that I just want to take home with me! And I know every time I pick up one of her books I’m going to have a passionate, emotional and laughter-filled reading experience. Ann will be giving away a copy of Tender Secrets . So be sure and comment!

AC: Wow, Gwen! What a welcome! Thanks for having me!

GB: So, the last time you were here, soror, we sort of came to the conclusion that you are… err… a little bit obsessed with revenge…

AC: Is that true? I have no current recollection of that. I deny everything.

GB: Yes, it is true. In fact, that seems to be a theme running through several of your novels.

AC: Well … *COUGH!* … Maybe.

GB: And lo and behold… in your latest, Tender Secrets , the heroine, Viveca Jackson, is “beautiful, bitter and bent on revenge.” But this novel is full of all kinds of juicy themes, family secrets, lies, a really interesting plot twist… It’s just a really juicy read!

AC: Thanks, Gwen. I’m really glad you enjoyed it. I’m grinning idiotically.

GB: So, my question is, and yes I do have one, how do you go about developing these wonderfully nuanced stories? On the surface, we can point to one theme, but once we delve into an Ann Christopher novel, we find more, lots more. How do you do it?

AC: I appreciate the compliment. One thing I always try to keep in mind is that everyone in the novel has an agenda. Maybe it’s hidden, maybe it’s overt, but everyone wants something in every scene. If there’s a dog in the scene, he wants something too. In fact, in my next book, Road to Seduction , the dog is in constant search of bacon.

So everyone wants something, and everyone thinks that they’re the star of the show. The secondary characters don’t know they’re secondary—no one told them. They want what they want. There’s a reason they want what they want. What’s the reason?

All these considerations go into making the characters more complex, IMHO.

GB: I can’t wait for Road to Seduction and this bacon obsessed dog! But first things first… My next question is all about Andrew Warner. Girl, girl, girl, girl GIRL!

AC: Did you like him? Picture me squealing with glee!

GB: Like him? Girl, I think I love him. That man is something else! I had to wonder how in the heck Viveca managed to resist him as long as she did.

AC: Well … She didn’t hold out all THAT long now, Gwen, did she?

GB: No, she didn’t… did she? LOL. But, he would have had me at, hello, that’s for dang sure! You know I typically enjoy your heroes, but you kicked it up a notch with Andrew. So my question is, what was your inspiration for creating a man like that?

AC: Okay, Gwen. You got me. I knew you’d wind up asking me one of those hard questions.

GB: Wooohah! And I wasn’t even trying with that questions. LOL.

AC: *SIGH*

I know this is a lame answer. Argh! I HATE it when you ask me the hard questions!

GB: Well he certainly was all of that and then some. Speaking of Andrew and his general hotness, I have to ask you about those smoking HOT love scenes!

AC: Uh-oh!

GB: I generally feel like the best love scenes come from the characters and really develop with them and should take the relationship to another level. I want to give you your props on the love scenes in Tender Secrets , because the level of sensuality, passion and heat, just seemed to exude from the characters and propelled the story forward fabulously. I’ve read all of your other books and it seemed like you really went to another space in the writing of the love scenes here. Can you talk a little bit about that? Was it character driven? Did you purposely set out to write a hotter story?

AC: Thanks, Gwen. You’re so sweet! I think it was character driven because Viveca and Andrew both have such strong personalities and the chemistry between them is explosive right from the beginning. They’re evenly matched in every way, and when they come together, well …

The scenes were pretty hot and I kept waiting for my editor to rein me in, but she never did.

GB: I’m glad she didn’t rein you in. Okay, now on to the Warners. The Warner family is so-oo complicated. Their relationships are anything but cut and dry. They hate each other. They love each other. They grudgingly respect each other. They put me in the mind of those rich nighttime soap families, like the Ewings or Carringtons, of the 80s, but better! What prompted you to create this sort of larger than life family full of secrets and lies?

AC: The Ewings and Carringtons prompted me—that’s who! Didn’t you love those episodes where they’d be snarling at each other over the coffee and grapefruit at the breakfast table? All that wonderful nastiness with Miss Ellie trying to keep the peace! Wasn’t that GREAT? And every now and then, some innocent newcomer would stumble onto the scene and had to swim with the sharks or get eaten.

So I threw Viveca in with the Warner sharks and waited to see what she would do. Guess what? She swam!

GB: She definitely held her own! So, in February 2009, we are going to get Eric Warner’s story! Yay! I already know that it is going to follow one of my favorite romance tropes, friends to lovers. Can you give us a few more teasers and information about Road to Seduction ?

AC: Eric is about to see his college friend Isabella in a whole new light, not that he’s happy about it. He’s going to fall hard. But he’s been a playa and Isabella isn’t interested in having her heart broken. So they arrive at a, shall we say, interesting agreement…

This is a more poignant story and, as I told my editor, I really want to rip reader’s hearts out with this one.

GB: Oh good, I can have a nice cry with this one. I love a nice cry! Well, Ann, thanks so much for another great read and for visiting my blog! Please let readers know where they can find out more about you and your books.

AC: Visit me at www.annchristopher.com. I love hearing from readers! And thanks for having me, Gwen. It’s always fun!

Readers can purchase TENDER SECRETS here.

Feeling Funky… Feeling Jazzy… Feeling Sensational!

When the fabulous Bettye Griffin mentioned that we should have a Throwback Thursday dedicated to Gwen McCrae, I automatically thought of my favorite song by her, “Funky Sensation.” I love this song! It reminds me of the good old days when, if you really liked a song or beat, you didn’t have to wait long for a rap group to make a song using the same banging track. And that, my friends, brings me to my other favorite song from that time, “Jazzy Sensation” by Afrika Bambaataa and the Jazzy 5. Say what you want, but the beat is banging and I can see why Bambaataa turned right around and flipped it and made it Jazzy. In fact, I think someone needs to either sample it or make a remake of the entire song today. So… Can you feel it? Can you feel it? My funky sen-sa-tion… Have a great weekend! Enjoy!

“Funky Sensation” Gwen McCrae

“Jazzy Sensation,” Afrika Bambaataa and the Jazzy 5

much love and peace,

Gwyneth

I got this cool quiz over on Chicki’s Blog. And I had to share my results because they are too funny. Apparently, I’m a smut writer… I think I’ll embrace it.

You can take the quiz here: http://www.quizilla.com/quizzes/99775/what-kind-of-writer-are-you

much love and peace,

Gwyneth

The Romance In Color review is in for Make it Hot ! They gave it 4+ Stars! Here’s some of the review: “The plot was on point and connected very well with the characters. There wasn’t a slow pace in this book. I actually read it in one day. Ms. Bolton mixed humor and some great love scenes that added fuel to the fire. The secondary characters only enlightened the storyline. Reuniting the entire Hightower family was enjoyable. This family is unique in the way they care about each other. They are supportive of one another and that is needed everyday in families. The in-laws Penny and, who could forget, Carla only added humor to the story. Saving the best for last, no one in their right mind can ever forget Aunt Sophie. This woman gets your blood pressure up every time she opens her mouth. Boy did she meet her match with Samantha. I truly enjoyed the scene with Samantha and Aunt Sophie. I commend Ms. Bolton on an excellent job. Make it Hot is a must read.” ~ Keren Childers for Romance in Color

You can read the entire review here:

Romance In Color Review for MAKE IT HOT

Cheryl Lynn! Sorry, I’m late posting today. Life is really hectic right now. But I’m trying to at least continue posting Throwback Thursday until things calm down. There’s not much to say about Cheryl Lynn. Love! Her! And these are three of my four all-time favorite Cheryl Lynn songs… in exact order. (I already posted my number four two weeks ago when I did “If This World Were Mine”) “Shake It Up Tonight” will always be my favorite Cheryl Lynn song because it’s just a great I’m-about-to-go-out-with-my-girls-and-party-my-behind-off song. Granted I wasn’t old enough to really go out and party my behind off when the song originally came out, but I could dream. LOL. Enjoy!

“Shake It Up Tonight”

Of course “Encore”

“Got to Be Real”

Gwen Guthrie
July 14 1950 – February 3, 1999

So, I think I’ll dedicate the next few weeks to some of my favorite female singers from the 80s. Gwen Guthrie’s music inspired lots of singing in the bathroom when I was a teenager. You haven’t heard anything until you’ve heard a 16-year-old belting out “Outside in the Rain” as she daydreams about stuff she has no business daydreaming about! And you certainly haven’t heard anything like that same love sick teen full of angst and singing “Padlock” when she had an argument with the same boyfriend who had her daydreaming about forbidden things just days earlier. LOL. I couldn’t really carry a tune. But I felt the emotion of Gwen Guthrie’s songs for sure. And then there was the fact that she and I shared a name. And if “Ain’t Nothin’ Goin’ On But The Rent” wasn’t an anthem to women in the 80s I don’t know what was. So, do you have a favorite Gwen Guthrie song? Do you have a favorite female singer from the 80s that you think I should consider for Throwback Thursday? Next up is definitely Cheryl Lynn. But I’d love to hear some of your favorites.

“Outside In the Rain”

“Padlock”

“Ain’t Nothin’ Goin’ On But the Rent

Black Butterfly Review gives Protect and Serve Five Flutters! And it gives Make It Hot Four Flutters!

Here’s some of what Eleanor Shields of Black Butterfly Review says of Protect and Serve :
“Gwyneth Bolton presents with the first installment of a powerful love series of hunky service men in Protect and Serve of the Hightower Series… Gwyneth Bolton has done an extraordinary job at thrilling her readers with tender romance, unsuspected suspense and truly unforgettable characters as she has written a delectable tale with powerful undercurrents of truths, desires and love.”

You can read the reviews here:
Black Butterfly Review of PROTECT AND SERVE
Black Butterfly Review of MAKE IT HOT

I’m so geeked to have Dara Girard joining me on Gwyneth’s Blog today. I read my first Dara Girard book back in 2004, Gaining Interest . And I have since fallen in love with her Duvall Sisters series and Black Stockings Society series. Although… my all time favorite Dara Girard book would have to be Sparks … She creates characters that just pull you into the story and her novels are always such fun reads. So, I’m just pleased to be able to chat with her today about her novels.

GB: I noticed a little bit of a postmodern flip on classical fairy-tale motifs in a few of your novels that I’ve read. Do you like playing with the fairy-tales and giving them a remix?

DG: You bring up an excellent point Gwyneth. Yes, in a few of my novels I have used a fairy-tale premise but they were not based on the recent ones most people are familiar with. In truth, I don’t care much for knights in shinning armor and damsels in distress, which calls to mind what present day fairy tales have been reduced to. Original fairy-tales were very different. They used to have strong heroines and adult themes—ones that were naughtier and sexier–but as time passed, they were sanitized to suit Victorian children. The present watered down versions tell us (primarily women) that if you’re beautiful and good that someone (a male) will eventually rescue you.

GB: WAY COOL!!

DG: I get my inspiration from the fairy tales of old. Women had minds and they used them. For example in several earlier versions of the “Ash Girl” tale (a.k.a Cinderella), she was no push over. There’s one version where she follows the advice of her governess and kills her stepmother only to get one that’s ten times worse; another tale has her boldly ask to go to the ball and she cleverly outsmarts her stepmother’s tricks. And there’s the German version, one of my favorites, where the step-sisters so desperately want to fit the glass slipper that they cut off part of their foot! This is the one I like to call ‘the bloody shoe’ version.

I could go on and on about this tale and others that have inspired me, but I’ll spare you. However, my point is when a reader sees any correlation in my stories to a ‘fairy-tale’ I hope they see its valiant history and my desire to put the ‘hero’ back in heroine.

GB: Speaking of fairy-tales, I noticed in Power Play that there was a little bit of the Cinderella theme at play. I have to say, I really adored Mary and Edmund’s story. There were so many life lessons about self-esteem and self worth at play in the novel. The novel is the first in your Black Stockings Society series. Can you tell us a little bit about the series and your inspiration for it?

DG: You’re right. Like most stories with a rags-to-riches premise, Power Play initially brings to mind the fairy-tale theme, but again my goal was to make Mary the hero. So she has to rescue herself from a bad boss, a conniving colleague and a man who hasn’t been completely honest with her. Her destiny depends on her choices. The Black Stockings Society offers her the opportunity to change her life, but she has to do the work.

GB: That she does! She really comes into her own. It’s such a fulfilling thing to see!

DG: And that brings me to the conception of The Black Stockings Society. It is an invitation only club meant for women ready to shake up their love lives. The series has an element of mystery. No one knows how they are selected or the creator of the club, who is only known as “Ms. Dorathe”. I decided to select stockings, because they are an ultimate feminine item that is sexy and powerful at the same time. When I was doing research for the series, I discovered that there are many different kinds and some very expensive ones ($70.00 a pair and up!). Considering how stockings/nylons originated we now have full-body ones, sequined ones, thigh-highs, or whatever – a wide choice for any woman and for any budget.

I was inspired by the thought of an object changing how a woman saw herself. So in my series, I wanted to give each woman a chance to take control of their destinies, with a little help. They all have to face what they want, but they must take the risk to go after it.

GB: I have to say I really love the Duvall sisters. You really stood the fairy tale on its head in The Glass Slipper Project . My favorite Duvall sister novel was Taming Mariella , though. She was my kind of heroine. It’s an interesting series with great family dynamic. What were you hoping for readers to take away from the Duvall sisters?

DG: My first goal is always to entertain. What would I want my readers to take away from the series? That you don’t have to be beautiful and good to get what you want. If you have the qualities of a heroine, you will win. In this series I showed three different women who each achieved their own happy ending.

Isabella is kind, but she’s not considered beautiful. However, she has a strong inner will and is not the wimpy “Plain Jane” hoping to be noticed.
Gabriella is sweet, but doesn’t have a model’s figure and does something that is selfish, which helps her gain confidence.
And Mariella is beautiful, but she’s vain and demanding. In a simple story she’d be cast as a villain, but I saw the hero in her and fortunately readers did too.

At their core the Duvall sisters are loyal and loving and that’s what makes them heroines to me.

GB: What’s forthcoming from Dara Girard? Can you share any news about future projects with us?

DG: I am presently putting together another series for Kimani Romance. Also I just submitted a mainstream novel to my agent, and hope to have good news for my readers soon. I am considering returning to an old series, the Henson Trilogy, to a character many of my readers have been asking me about. But as an author, you know that it’s up to the publisher if what I submit will get published.

GB: Your career is going steady and strong. You are putting out amazing novels and sharing great stories with readers. Do you have any advice for writers who want to be where you are?

DG: All of my advice for writers can be found in my book, The Writer Behind the Words: Steps to Success in the Writing Life . But here are a few tips: Never lose your love of writing. That’s what’s kept me going through the ups and downs of my career. If you get a rejection, you keep writing. If the publisher drops you, you keep writing. If you get an agent, or can’t get an agent, or you get an editor, and the editor leaves, you just keep writing. Why? Because this is the power you have, and the moment you get the right publisher/editor you will have a bunch of stories to give them.

GB: Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by Gwyneth’s Blog

DG: Thanks for having me! It’s been an absolute pleasure.

Readers can find out more information about Dara and her books here:

http://daragirard.com
http://daragirard.com/blog

And readers can purchase the first two novels in the delightful Black Stocking Society Series here:
POWER PLAY
A GENTLEMAN’S OFFER

Just when I thought I was all talked out and couldn’t possibly say another word about me or my books, my blog buddy Kimber An over on Enduring Romance asked me to be one of her Sunday Showcase authors. So stop over and check out the interview is you get a chance. You can check the interview out here:
Enduring Romance Interview

Be sure to check in on Monday to view my interview with Dara Girard!

much love and peace,

Gwyneth